The perfect bread for sandwiches, toast and hotpockets

My fiancé loves making toast, classic sandwiches and hot pockets. Rustic sourdough with its chewy texture and depth of flavour is not always ideal for this purpose. The texture of rustic sourdough can be too chewy for toast or hotpockets and its rich flavour can easily overpower the toppings of a sandwich. The bread for sandwiches, toast and hot pockets needs to be softer, lighter and more neutral in flavour.

So how can we make a soft, fluffy loaf without using additives or humidifiers? The answer is to use a technique from Asian kitchens – tangzhong.

Tangzhong is a kind of roux (the mix of flour and liquid used in sauces such as béchamel, velouté and espagnole). Wheat flour is mixed with water and heated until it thickens. This is then added to the bread dough where it helps retain moisture and improves the rising cabilities of the dough.

Making the Tangzhong

The following Youtube video by blogger BigheadMagicMad demonstrates the process:

Baking bread with Tangzhong

Once we have our Tangzhong, we can get started with the fun part – baking the bread. I have used Tangzhong in many different bread recipes. Some with sourdough, some with fresh yeast and some with dried yeast. Some asian recipes call for the use of an egg to retain moisture. I have baked asian-style bread both with and without egg and can assure you, the bread will be fine without egg. The asian recipes usually call for more sugar than is really needed, so I have tried to reduce it for this recipe. It can be replaced with coconut sugar, agave or malt if you prefer a healthier option. If you choose to omit the sugar entirely, increase the proofing time by 10-20%.